Everyone has witnessed the rapturous joy dogs experience while sticking their heads out of car windows. Denying this simple pleasure of the senses for Fido would be just plain cruel, right? l hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is one of the five biggest mistakes dog-owners make when traveling with their pet. It's not just because it can be dangerous to have a dog unrestrained in a vehicle, but the wind can actually cause more problems than you'd think.
The beginning of summer marks a difficult time for your car. It needs extra attention to keep extreme heat from damaging its engine, battery and other parts. Overheating is also a common and deadly hazard for pets traveling in cars.
The potential dangers of traveling with pets are getting more attention for a couple of reasons. The sluggish economy has made relatively frugal road trips more popular. Since cars tend to be more pet-friendly than some other forms of transportation, more people are taking their dogs, cats and other animals with them.
“People tend to say, ‘Hey, let’s take along the dog or cat,’” says Katherine Miller, an animal behaviorist with the ASPCA. But people often do not realize how stressful travel can be for animals who are not used to it, she says. The ASPCA has the following five mistakes to avoid to help keep the journey fun and safe for you and your pet.
5 BIGGEST MISTAKES IN PET TRAVEL
1) Leaving your pet in a parked car. Even when it doesn’t seem so hot outside the temperature inside a car can quickly rise past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Contrary to common assumptions, opening windows a bit for ventilation doesn’t help much and leaving a pet unattended in a car can be dangerous even if it’s only for a few minutes.
2) Allowing your pet to ride with its head outside the window even though some dogs seem to love doing it. The dangers are many, from inner-ear damage to injuries from flying debris.
3) Forgetting to keep animals secured in the car inside a ventilated animal crate or in a pet-safety harness. Pets should not be allowed to romp all over the car because they could distract the driver and this can lead to accidents.
4) Forgetting to bring your own water in plastic containers. This is preferable to relying on water fountains and other unreliable sources along the way.
5) Feeding pets in a moving vehicle. Instead feed them light meals three or so hours before hitting the road.
You can get more information and additional tips on pet safety and care at
www.aspca.org.
From blogs.wsj.com - Jonathan Welsh
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